This disclosure relates generally to the field of video capture, and more particularly, to acquiring time-lapse video.
The advent of portable integrated computing devices has caused a wide proliferation of cameras and video devices. These integrated computing devices commonly take the form of smartphones or tablets and typically include general purpose computers, cameras, sophisticated user interfaces including touch sensitive screens, and wireless communications abilities through Wi-Fi, LTE, HSDPA and other cell-based or wireless technologies. The wide proliferation of these integrated devices provides opportunities to use the devices' capabilities to perform tasks that would otherwise require dedicated hardware and software. For example, as noted above, integrated devices such as smartphones and tablets typically have one or two embedded cameras. These cameras generally amount to lens/camera hardware modules that may be controlled through the general purpose computer using firmware and/or software (e.g., “Apps”) and a user interface including the touch-screen fixed buttons and touchless control such as voice control.
The integration of cameras into communication devices such as smartphones and tablets has enabled people to share images and videos in ways never before possible. It is now very popular to acquire and immediately share photos with other people either by sending the photos via text message, SMS, or email, or by uploading the photos to an Internet-based service, such as a social networking site or a photo sharing site.
Immediately sharing video is likewise possible, as described above for sharing of photos. However, bandwidth limitations and upload times significantly constrain the length of video that can easily be shared. In many instances, a short video clip that captures the essence of the entire action recorded may be desirable. The duration of the video clip may depend on the subject matter of the video clip. For example, a several hour car ride or an evening at a party might be reduced to a time-lapse video clip lasting only a minute or two. Other action, such as a sunset or the movement of clouds, might be better expressed in a clip of twenty to forty seconds. While a time-lapse video of shortened duration may be desired, a user often may wish to acquire video (referred to herein as, “source video”) over a greater length of time, for example, over minutes, hours, or even days. A user may desire to reduce the length of the source video to provide a shortened, time-lapse video clip. The user may wish to share the video, as mentioned above, or, may simply desire shortened, time-lapse playback.